During the year 2023, cases of ransomware attacks on companies in Latin America increased, according to ESET’s annual report, Security Report. The company estimated that last year, 23 % of the region’s companies were affected.

In the document they highlight that not only the number of cases increased but also the sophistication in the execution of these effects in Latam to companies of all sizes and sectors.

ESTE pointed out that cybercriminals now use more specialized techniques. Digital criminals have used extortion strategies in both companies and government agencies.

In this sense, the report points out that “groups such as LockBit, BlackCat, Clop and Medusa, among others, have used the “ransomware as a service” (RaaS) model, which allows low-level operators to access sophisticated attack tools without the need for advanced technical knowledge.”

Double extortion was the most dominant method. It consists of not only “encrypting a company’s critical files, but also threatening to publish sensitive data if payment is not made.”

Weak security measures facilitate ransomware attacks

ESET emphasizes that the lack of strong security measures has made the path easier for cybercriminals. The report indicates that “only 2 in 5 companies in the region update their systems more than twice a year, leaving many organizations vulnerable to exploitation by new security gaps.”

The damage caused is now more severe. With this, cybercriminals seek to delete critical data and thereby force victims to pay ransoms.

An important fact for Latin America, which the ESET report highlights, is the weakness that the region presents in facing ransomware attacks “since, on average, only 50 % of the sectors in the report (telecommunications, public services, banking /finance, health and government) have a response plan for possible incidents generated by cyberattacks.”

M.Pino

Source: cointelegraph

(Reference image source: Unsplash+, in collaboration with Getty Images)

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The LockBit cybercriminal group created a version of its popular ransomware to encrypt computers running Apple’s Mac operating system, a first in its evolution so far limited to Microosft and Linux.

LockBit is a type of malware designed to encrypt the computer it infects, generally Microsoft or Linux, and prevent access to its data, also interrupting the operations of a company or organization, until now its main objectives. To release it, request a payment.

LockBit works as a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), and is linked to the cybercriminal group of the same name. According to Kaspersky, its members appear to “intentionally avoid attacking the local systems of Russia or any other country of the Commonwealth of Independent States”, something that has sometimes led to the belief that it is a group of Russian origin or linked to the Russian government.

An update on this group was provided by MalwareHunter researchers, who identified what they believe to be “the first LockBit build” targeting an Apple device.

The ransomware sample they have analyzed was designed for a MacOS computer with an Apple Silicon (M1) chip, as they shared via Twitter. Specifically, it appears as “locker_Apple_M1_64”.

In the explanation they offer, they point out that it was included in a package dated March 20. With the contribution of VX-Underground, they qualified that it was made public in November 2022.

Earlier this year, the LockBit group apologized after it emerged that its ransomware had attacked and encrypted the systems of a children’s hospital, claiming it was the action of a partner, who violated its rules.

Source: dpa

(Reference image source: file)

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La entrada Apple is also affected by LockBit ransomware apareció primero en Bitfinance.